On this day in 1997, the wrestling world lost WWE Hall of Famer Fritz von Erich at the age of 68. Von Erich excelled at football in college and was signed to the Dallas Texans for a season, before moving to the CFL. It was while playing in this league that he had a chance meeting with Stu Hart, who ended up booking him for his Klondike Wrestling promotion. Fritz was teamed with ‘brother’ Waldo in a Nazi-esque gimmick. The pair were regulars across many northern American promotions. By the 1960’s, Fritz’s home territory was Sam Muchnick’s St Louis promotion, before he broke out on his own, taking control of the Dallas, Houston and San Antonio territories at the end of the decade. As you might expect, he and his family became the top stars of the territory, with Fritz holding 30 titles in the promotion. He also served as president of the NWA in 1975-6. By the time he retired from the ring in 1982, the Texas territory (which had recently been renamed WCCW) was one of the most successful in the country, known for its high production values and television programming. Unfortunately, this also proved to be the downfall of the promotion. As Vince McMahon’s WWF came to prominence, he raided the high-profile Texas territory, signing most of its stars, forcing Fritz to merge with Jerry Jarrett to form the USWA. Fritz eventually passed of brain and lung cancer, though tragically, had outlived 5 of his 6 sons.